


Ugly

by mejackson (canicallyoumaddie)



Series: Story of Us Book (extra content) [2]
Category: Story of Us - Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Feeling Bad, Insecurity, LeRhys for the soul, M/M, Married Relationship, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 14:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14620935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canicallyoumaddie/pseuds/mejackson
Summary: Leo is having a rough day, not feeling too good about his appearance, which dredges up some nasty feelings from his past. Thankfully Rhys is there with hugs and kisses to help him feel better!





	Ugly

**Author's Note:**

> AHH round two of my drabbles, as always, check out Story of Us  here if you'd like to know more about Leo and Rhys.

Leo heard the front door open, followed by Rhys’s voice calling out for him. “In here,” he said, nudging the bathroom door open with his foot. As he waited for Rhys to find him, he resumed his staring and frowning at his reflection in the mirror.

“Hey, honey, how was—Leo?” Rhys said, poking his head into the bathroom. “What’s wrong?”

Leo gave him an exaggerated shrug. “I feel bad.”

“Bad?” Rhys repeated. “Do you need any meds? What’s feeling bad? I can run to the drug store if you need—”

“Not…that kind of bad,” Leo replied, not breaking eye contact with the mirror. Rhys looked down at the mess of makeup on the counter and frowned.

“What happened?” he asked, edging into the bathroom but still giving Leo space.

“Nothing _happened,_ per se…” Leo said. “I just feel…really ugly today.”

Rhys’s frown deepened. “You feel _ugly_?"

Leo nodded miserably, then buried his face in his hands. “I feel terrible,” he added. His voice was muffled by his hands and Rhys had to lean closer to hear him. “I tried putting makeup on to help and it just made it _worse_."

Rhys reached out and placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Honey, you know that isn’t true though, right?” Leo shrugged, and Rhys turned Leo to face him. “Look at me.”

Leo uncovered his face, so Rhys could see faint tear tracks on his cheeks through the makeup.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Rhys said, pulling Leo gently forward and wrapping his arms around him. “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” They swayed back and forth gently before Rhys added, “You know that’s what I thought when I first saw you?”

Leo choked on a watery attempt at a laugh. “No you didn’t.”

Rhys pulled back and looked at Leo very seriously. “No, sweetheart, look at me.” Leo met his eyes  “I _promise_ , that was literally my first thought. I thought—and I still think—that you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on. Makeup or no makeup.”

Leo still looked at him with skepticism. “Really? _Even_ without makeup?”

“Babe, you can look like death warmed over and I’ll still think you’re gorgeous.”

Leo laughed; a real one this time. “That’s insane. You’re insane.”

“Maybe, but I like to think that there’s truth to what I’m saying,” Rhys replied.

Leo’s smile started to fade as he retreated back into himself. “It’s hard to explain, but…today my face doesn’t even look like _mine,”_ Leo whispered. “It just…feels wrong. My nose looks _huge,_ my skin is _horrible,_ and god, don’t even get me started on my hair today—”

“—Baby.”

Leo looked up at Rhys and noticed he was holding a makeup wipe.

“It sounds like you’re distressed now _because_ of the makeup,” Rhys said. He held up the wipe. “May I?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Leo muttered, closing his eyes. Rhys gently swept the cloth over Leo’s face, taking with the makeup that exacerbated the problem. After a few minutes, Leo was barefaced and slightly pink.

“There,” Rhys said, running his hands down Leo’s arms and kissing his shoulder. “Better?”

Leo look a moment to confront himself in the mirror. He looked at the slight mottle of his cheeks and his unpainted eyes and sighed. “I wish I saw what you see,” he murmured. “Maybe I wouldn’t hate how I looked.” 

Rhys looked alarmed. “You don't feel _any_ better?”

Leo blinked slowly, then wrapped his arms around himself. “Maybe a little bit.”

Rhys placed himself behind Leo and wrapped him in his arms. “What can I do?” he asked, head leaning against his back. He could feel the hitch in Leo’s breath, and he furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips.

“I don’t know…” Leo said, covering Rhys’s hand with his own. “This just…happens sometimes. When I was younger, I-I dunno, people didn’t like or approve the way I looked, makeup or not, and I guess every now and then it rears its ugly head.”

“Well…you’re perfect the way you are,” Rhys said, burrowing his face between Leo’s shoulder-blades. “I know that’s hard to believe when your brain is saying mean things to you.”

“Yeah.” Leo sighed. "I hate it."

“You know I love you, right?”

Leo nodded and sighed heavily. “Yeah. I do. I love you too.”

“You’re my best friend.”

“You’re my best friend, too.”

“And you’ve got a cute butt.”

Leo laughed and squeezed Rhys’s wrist. “You’re terrible.”

“You’re more terrible.” Rhys smiled into Leo’s t-shirt.  “The terriblest.”

“That’s not a real word, Rhys.”

“Isn’t it though? I said it, so it’s real. Shakespeare did it, why can’t I?”

Leo lifted Rhys’s arms so he could turn to face him. “Shakespeare was a famous playwright—you aren’t,” he said, grinning.

“Yet.”

“You don’t even write, honey. _I’m_ the one who writes.”

Rhys stuck out his bottom lip and poked his head out from behind Leo’s back. “I’ll be the Shakespeare of art, then.”

“So…Escher?”

Rhys squinted one eye and pursed his lips. “Eh…Not quite.”

“Picasso?”

“Nah.”

“Pollock?”

“…Maybe.”

“Warhol?”

“ _Yes.”_

Leo laughed and leaned down to kiss Rhys lightly on the forehead. “You’re a big ol’ nerd.”

“I’m a cute nerd who you love, though,” Rhys said, grinning ear to ear. Leo gave him an extra kiss for good measure before releasing him and taking Rhys’s hand.

“Of course, you’re the cutest nerd,” Leo said, pulling him out of the bathroom. His spirits were lifted and he was determined to thank Rhys for his help. 

“Where are we going?” Rhys asked, allowing himself to be tugged down the hallway and toward their stairs to the first floor.

“We are going to the kitchen, where I’m making you some homemade pizza and a whiskey sour, and then I’m going to make out with your face.”

Rhys nearly tripped down the stairs, he was laughing so hard, and Leo had to support him as they stepped. “That sounds like a great idea, but—am I allowed to participate in the making out?”

Leo stopped and looked at him, confused. “What?”

“Well, you said that you were going to make out with my face, not that _we_ were going to make out,” Rhys explained, and sock-slid into the kitchen with a perplexed Leo in tow. “I just wanted to clarify that I get to make out with _your_ face, too.”

Leo's face broke into a dopey smile and he slid toward Rhys to tackle him with a hug. “You’re the most adorable.”

Rhys laughed and ran a hand through Leo’s hair, fixing it so it didn’t stick up everywhere. “So are you.” They met eyes and Rhys raised his eyebrows. “Do you feel better?”

Leo honestly, really did. “I really do. Thank you.” He leaned down to kiss Rhys on the lips briefly, before digging his fingers into Rhys’s sides, making him yelp.

“T-That’s no fair!” Rhys yelled, trying to squirm away. “Why do you always do this!?”

“Because you're so easy to get!"

"That's not a good reason! What happened to pizza?"

"Tickles first, pizza next, _then_ make-outs!”

"I'm going back upstairs!" Rhys cried, attempting to leave the kitchen. However, Leo boxed him in and bodily hauled him into the air.

"Nope! You're staying down here with me!"

" _Leo!_ "

Leo cackled, holding his squirming husband aloft by the waist. "You love me."

"I know but now I can't recall why," Rhys said, and Leo gently set him down. Leo stuck out his bottom lip and pressed their foreheads together, giving him an impressive pout.

"D'you really mean it?" Leo asked, eyes wide and lip trembling.

Rhys gave him a flat look and rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

Leo buried his nose in the crook of Rhys's neck, giggling. Rhys's hands slid from around Leo's neck to his sides, and Leo only got a belated, " _NO!"_   in before Rhys was viciously tickling him back. "No, why've you done this?" Leo hollered, trying to wriggle away, but failing.

"You did it to me! I deserve recompense!" Rhys hollered back, holding on for dear life.

After a few minutes of scrabbling, Rhys finally got tired enough for Leo to break his hold. They both slid to the floor in a huff, turned to look at each other, and burst out laughing. Leo leaned his head back against the cabinets and sighed; this time, though, it was a happy sigh. Rhys reached out to intertwine their fingers and squeezed his hand, prompting Leo to look at him. Rhys cocked his head to the side and grinned.

"I love you, and as fun as that was, I really could go for pizza right now."

"I love you too, Rhys."

**Author's Note:**

> Leo and Rhys are original characters from my serial novel Story of Us. if you enjoyed this, please give kudos and follow me at @StoryofUsBook and @canicallymads (my personal) on twitter for more content!


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